abramelin

Hey John,

 

I just recently had a money issue as well. Just like you I was really down for a day...what a long day that was. But what I found is that spiritual progress helped very little when facing serious stuff in life. I can't say for sure personally whether I would've been able to cope just as well before or not.

I can say for sure that I wouldn't coped as well as I did before starting meditating etc.

The thing was that i wasn't the most concerned for my own behalf, but for my pet( a great pal in the form of a cat) that would surely not understand what situation I was in.

When I got money for food, for me and my cat there were tears of joy from my side. The most stressful part for me was not able to provide for a life that pet "owner hood" requires

//john

Lots of prices.....

 

Regards

~

Hugo Olivares Mila

There is sure people that takes advantages of people, and feel free to relief them from their money.

I did see that you linked to a ayahuasca retreat, a type of "spiritual" retreat where ignorant westerners give away their money to shamans with darker intentions.

There is no need to give away your life savings to a spiritual teacher, but it should at least be the courtesy to pay/ work etc for the work that someone that has put for you.

There is sure some charlatans, but that is something that one has to discern with ones own integrity and intuition. its all a learning process.

I believe that you will find a teacher when the time is ready, and that you will afford that teacher at that time.

//john

I asked myself the same thing, because I talk about my own masturbation alot, as a spiritual practice.

 

Interesting about that you mention masturbation as a subject, as this subject came up today as I was buying some incense. The store owner and i were talking about the cultural thing with circumcision, and i felt a little bit embarrassed about the subject due to that i believe that it is a mean to make people masturbate less. But humor cures alot of silly preconceptions about many subjets.

//john

During this summer my economy has been on the "downside".

I have had no income for over two months, and somewhat stressful times.

With almost no food and lots of bills piling up I applied for financial aid,

and my application got rejected. I felt desperate for a while ( a day)

but i got my spirit up pretty quickly , and went into some kind of fighter mode.

I did get some help with the food situation.

The thing I want o point out is that that if I wouldn't have been meditating

and doing other practices my mind/me would probably have experienced the situation

much more stressful. But instead I gained my calm and I am happy to tell that I just got employed.

So the thing that my practice have taught me is to be in the center of the storm, everything is passing.

The suffering I did have about the subject existed only in me, I can choose how to respond about it/feel about it.

Be well //John

How much should you share about your own experiences?

There is a question sure many of you have thought of on your path.

For my self i have found it helpful to read about personal stories about experiences

that people have gone through.

But why do I( my ego?) keep me from sharing experiences that might aid me and fellow seekers

from more knowledge along the path.

Sure there is a lot of anecdotes of "weird" stuff that happens but one is not inclined tho share this with others.

I know that many of you here on the forum are very open about your experimentation and experiences gained through that, but there is always that boundary about how mush one should share on a open forum such as this.

What is your thoughts about the subject of sharing experiences on a open forum such as this?

Live long and prosper// john

Is this related to the blue man group?

Live long and prosper// john

Bill hicks said

"its not a war on drugs, its a war on personal freedom"

In the nighttime I enjoy listening to radio shows on my mp3 player, as a way to wind down, before getting tired. I have encountered a couple pf podcasts that also might be of interest for people here on the forum. I would also enjoy tips and links to interesting radio.

Here is the show that i listened to yesterday

http://www.redicecreations.com/radio/2008/...RICR-080724.php

We continue our mini-series with Daniel Tatman on "the Bath Mystery's". Join us for an excellent two part special on geomancy, lay lines & organic/fractal architecture. Topics Discussed: The Egyptian Connection, Sacred Science, Symbolism, Egyptian architecture, Geomancy, Telluric Lines, Astrological Geomancy, Sound, Vibration, Tones, Dowsing, Hamish Miller, Paul Broadhurst, Michael and Mary lines, David Talbot, Female & Male Lay Lines, Sun & Moon, Male & Female, Djed & Tyet, Electro & Magnetism, Square & Circle, Freemasonic Geomancy, Unbalanced Cities, Norman Foster, Straw Bale Houses, Proportions & Ratios, Caduceus, Ankh, Freemasonic Mark, Steganography, Johannes Trithemius, Francis Bacon, Paracelsus, Agripp, Aiq Bekar, Gematria, Geomancy of Churches, Tom Brooks, The Pythagorean Triangle of Britain & The Queen's coronation and much more.

enjoy

//john

I forgot to mention that i have also practiced the aahhh meditation and have nothing but positive things to say about it!! I like making sounds, and sounds do seem to have have powerful effects.

Just check out cymatics -the study of wave phenomena. there is a lot of cool videos of the sound effects on youtube of you search cymatics

//john

The Olympics are a highly ritualized ordeal so the date doesn't surprise me that much.

Lots of focused energies on a event.

Remember 7/7/7?

I still would like to see some western "Witch" "Warlock" or practitioner of Magick in general show some amazing abilities like J. Chang, Wim Hoff, or Wang Li-Ping, Robert Peng Etc. Has anyone ever heard of any similar abilities gained through years of magickal practice and study? I haven't. It seems to be of little value if you actually want to accomplish something like ascension.

Nowadays you do hear about "amazing" abilities on forums and such, but to believe it is another thing.

An explanation why there HAS been/still is a wall of silence about these things of the western tradition is that at certain times in Europe you would be burned at the stake for just making herbal medicine. Or just a rumor that you might of...

So if you could manipulate what we call reality, you would keep it to your self.

//john

Manifestation is a big joke, seems to be more like a marketers ploy. Maybe there are eastern thoughts and schools based in these techniques. Find it hard to believe in something which guarantees something without any work involved from your part. Taken from the most esoteric teaching on this planet "god helps those who help themselves"

I don't think manifestation and law of attraction is totally bullshit. But it is put in a nice looking, newagey, fluffy bunny who-haa package.

The thing is that people do have a lot of baggage, or what C G Jung called the shadow, all the unwanted thing we have put down in the depths of the subconscious/unconscious processes. This shadow is also doing its part in "manifesting".

This is why most people don't succeed in utilizing LOA to the maximum. They think if they only change the tip of the ice-berg they will have, happy successful and abundant lives.

But you have to take care of business, clear out your "dramas" .

So if you want to attract good things, you must face your dark side. (not evil)

This is though only a opinion but I lean to this model of thinking right now.

//john

There is no answer for that question - 'qi gong' covers a huge number of different practices - and LBRP is just one practice... however - it's most similar to something like the six healing sounds, and fusion in qi gong terms...

I have done the six healing sounds exercise, that exercise gives me the feeling of cleaning the body energies, i was amazed how much mucus i had to clear out from my throat after my first session. The LRBP seams to me to focus on clearing the mind. Or the microcomos as it is told.

A interesting thing was that in the days that followed my new practice, my dream life, or dream recall went into overdrive. The vividness of the dreams increased massively and it was like i was doing a spring cleaning in my dreamworld from all types of weird critters and animals. From what i understand this is what is supposed to happen, you turn on the light and scare away astral parasites etc.

//john

It was interesting to see that the subject of western tradition has come just after I myself started/ starting to try out western ceremonial magick . I have been doing The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram now for a month and I am starting to try out the Middle pillar meditation.

I did notice that the LBRP is a very effective exercise, what it does to me is that it shuts of the "monkey chatter" and my mind becomes more quiet, like after a session of meditation.

I don't think that the western methods are that bad at all, just a different pragmatic approach to get to the same point.

I would like to hear the benefits from practicing LBRP from someone here who has done that for a longer period and what difference(result wise) this type of practice has from qi gong.

I do believe that both practices can be complementary.

//john

In the western occult tradition there has been a tradition of secret societies or societies with secret such as the freemasons.

I started thinking about how that I have never heard of a eastern secret society, is it that the western atmosphere against certain tradition made it a necessity to hide it?

I am not talking about certain masters revealing new exercises when the student was ready, I am wondering if there is any organized teaching schools on a wider scale that has/is secretive in their nature.

In my opinion there has been more openness in the east(I am generalizing, I know) regarding different tradition of the more esoteric aspects of the universe. If you wanted to be a part of them you became a monk and there was not so much hush hush about thing.

Is this the case or am I being totally ignorant?

//john

I'm looking for readable, entertaining and maybe "intermediate" level at this point.

I recommend reading any book by Lon Milo Duqette, he is a author that writes with humor and cuts through the mumbojumbo, a great start.

I also recomend Modern Magick by Donald Michael Kraig that xienkula mentioned.

Otherwise a good place to go to is http://www.occultofpersonality.com/. A radio program that dwells into mostly the western esoteric subjects, but also touches on eastern traditions.

And for children this might be more appropriate Witches & Magic Makers

Cheri-o

Just so get the discussion started, do you think there is a difference between playing the Didgeridoo yourself or listening to the sounds, made by some one else CD or otherwise?

Be happy// abra

I got an album of Didgeridoo music today and after listening to it for a while i got into a nice energetic mood so I did a little research on the subject and found a interesting page http://www.didgetherapy.com/HarmonicTherapy.html

There is a passage on this page that caught my attention

It has been observed by a wide range of holistic practitioners that the didgeridoo produces an energetic effect similar to a Reiki or Qigong power washer. The sound/energy waves produced by the didgeridoo effectively clear out meridians, Dan Tiens, or Chakras (TCM v/s Aruvedic orientation). This enables the person to release deep energetic and emotional stagnation that in holistic medicine is the root of chronic disease. It has been observed that the energetic effects of the didgeridoo have a lasting impact on the client and produces results similar to Five Element Acupuncture.

It certainly caught my attention and now I'm considering buying a beginners set with a didgeridoo and instructions.

Do any of you have any experience with this instrument, and so what kind of effect did it have on you?

Be happy// abra

Edit: just rememer a cool vid on youtube on the effect of sounds that I think is relative to the subject

rad. the Chenrezig Mantra seems to affect how much i'm conscious of compassion, and how much i subconsciously act on it. That mantra and the Padmasambhava Mantra "Om Ah Hung Benzar Guru Peme Siddhi Hung" have helped me alot. the Chenrezig seems to bring me compassion while the Padmasambhava seems to purify my mind. How do you go about these meditations?

Usually sitting in seiza, but sometimes on a chair if I want to sit a longer time.

I sit silently reciting the mantra over and over again.

other mantras i have tried out:

Ram - very effective in emptying the mind, but it gave me the feeling of forcing the mind to be silent by threat (hehe cant describe the feeling better)

Shamadi Shawadi Shamadi Shawadi Shamadi Shamadi Shawadi - gives the same feeling of watching windshield wipers going back and forth.

Now I am also experimenting with Om nama shivaya - can't say too much about the feeling i get from it.

There is defintetly different effect to different sounds(silently recited or aloud)

will try out the Padmasambhava mantra.

//Abra

Not a TV watcher any more, just a net freak,

Here is a couple of my favourite TV shows from over the years...

Six Feet Under (drama)

A drama series that takes a darkly comical look at members of a dysfunctional Pasadena family that runs an independent funeral home. With the prodigal elder son (Peter Krause) returning home for the holidays to shattering news, the family must learn to deal with a death of their own, while figuring out how to go ahead with the business of the living. A funny and emotional look at a grieving American family...that just happens to be in the grief management business.- imdb

Trailer Park Boys(comedy)

Trailer Park Boys is a new series about love, friends and family-or perhaps it's about everything that can go wrong with love, friends and family. At the centre of Trailer Park Boys are Ricky (Robb Wells) and Julian (John Paul Tremblay), two guys whose lives were shaped by their experiences growing up in the Trailer Park. Their childhood was typical of most trailer park kids - stealing, fighting, smoking, drinking, scamming and listening to Van Halen. The Boys have had their share of trouble with the law. Most of their adult lives have been spent behind bars of one kind or another. In fact, as this inaugural season begins, both Ricky and Julian are just getting out of jail. They blame each other for this most recent incarceration and, now, as Julian prepares to start all over again, he refuses to talk to Ricky. Julian wants and tries throughout the series to go straight - but old habits die hard. And that's just fine with Ricky - imdb

Arrested development (the best comedy show ever?)

Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), a widower with a 13-year-old son, named George-Michael (Michael Cera), is forced to keep his large and dysfunctional family together after his father (Jeffery Tambor) is arrested for shifty accounting practices at the family-owned conglomerate and the Bluth family assets are frozen, making each member of the eccentric family panic. Michael's snobbish mother, Lucille (Jessica Walter), finds herself living alone in a penthouse without the financial means to maintain it, while Michael's two brothers, GOB (Will Arnett) and Buster (Tony Hale), and his sister Lindsay (Portia DeRossi) with her husband Tobias (David Cross) and her daughter Mae (Alia Shawkat) also find themselves having to recreate their lifestyles to fit their new financial status.

I worked with a guy in Taiwan who repeated that all day long. He was from Tibet and the Chinese I also worked with considered him a holy man.

I like the feeling I get from The "om mani padme hung" mantra - I have experimented with other mantras but that mantra seems to cultivate more peace and calm for me. and I always seem to come back to it.

//abra

My focus right now is to become more positive, find new ways to enjoy life,

to smile more often.

Also I do a(almost daily) mantra meditation as a base in my practice - OM mani padme hung

//abra

I know that guy!

Do tell me more, the actor or...?

Namaste

//abra

 

As my avatar would suggest I tend to focus on the earthly and solar cycles and have done for decades escpecialy as I participated in the Western Taoist [aka neo-pagan/occult/theosophist] movement for many many years, where great emphasis is placed on the earth/solar cycles/festivals and I thoroughly enjoy their arrival.

 

Personaly I regard the Vernal Equinox as the realisation of the birth of the sun [not son LOL] as witnesed at Winter Solstice. At this point his/er influence upon the earth is now recongnisable and we can enoy the warmth and light of his/er rays just as the earth also starts to react to that same warmth and light.

 

Those evergreens I have kept up after the Winter Solstice [now dry and brittle but still green] in anticipation of new growth will eventualy be cleared away in a flurry of spring cleaning as I welcome the new year into the house.

 

Tomorrow morning I will be up at the crack of dawn [6.03 am] and wrapped in a blanket [as its a bit chilly at present] will sit in the garden to welcome the sun over the horizon, say my prayers, meditate and absorb the exceptionaly strong prana/chi that is present at this time [in my opinon of course LOL].

 

All day I will practice a special vegan fast that I have devised from foods that do not cause the death of any living thing even plants [ie mainly fruitarian], to celebrate life to its fullest, will study, meditate, plant the garden with bulbs and seeds that I have already prepared and try to avoid toooo much of the usual everyday trivia, without being tooooo harsh upon myself of course allowing myself some enjoyable distractions so as not to be toooo intense with myself or the world.

 

In the eve at 18.14 I will once again watch the sun sink beneath the horizon remembering that night is as much part of the day and light is only recognisable in the dark and vise versa. Of course it would be nice to share this day with others as I do the Winter Solstice when there is always an abundance of people willing to enjoy the season [even those with no spiritual connections] and at the Summer Solstice when I always go to Stonehenge. But the Equinox's often get ignored in this country [especialy the Autumn Equinox], though in Mexico attending the Vernal Equinox at Teotihuacan has became a huge tradition which is just as popular as the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge here in Britian [so if you are American and near the Mexican boarder it might be worth going].

 

Anyways Abramelin Happy Vernal Equinox and I hope this your first celebration will be as enjoyable as mine always are and I hope that you will find it expedient to continue this practice through the years, as I have always found this practice of great benefit to my body, mind and spirit.

Light, Warmth and Colour

Syn

Happy equinox to you too, and a happy equinox to all of ya bums out there!!

I might add watching the sunrise/sunset to my new "equinox routine" all depending if I wake up in time for it

// abra